is owner of Hunting Town Design, a small design house based in Manchester UK specialising in Graphic Design and Illustration. Alex is also the founder and editor of The Design Range. Find out more about Alex on his website or follow him on twitter.
In Wednesdays article about how designers can offer help to local businesses during the Coronavirus outbreak I touched on how we can offer some out of the box thinking for businesses that might not be able to trade online naturally. I want to expand on that a bit more here, and broaden your thinking beyond […]
Working from home is something we’ve written about a lot in the past on the Design Range – and I’d highly recommend checking out some of those older articles. But today I’m going to do you the favour of distilling all of that wondrous information and run through my top ten list of tips to […]
Coronavirus has touched every business in the world in some way. High streets grow quiet as customers are warned to stay indoors and shop online. Businesses grind to a halt and staff are asked to stay away from the workplace or else risk spreading the virus. All of this has a knock on effect so […]
This is a tough message to write. It’s tough because right now, I’m sat at home on lockdown with no real financial support from the government. It’s tough because several clients have cancelled or postponed upcoming projects amid fears of money issues. It’s tough because I’m not sure what to do. But that’s nowhere I […]
How many New Years resolutions have you abandoned? How many bad habits do you still have? In this article I want to tell you why this year I decided to ditch New Years resolutions all together, how I altered my approach to bad habits and how it has possibly been one of the most successful […]
A reader of the Design Range called Jules Richards got in touch with me recently with a really straight up simple question that I (and I’m sure a lot of you) can related to. “I am creative but not commercial, I am good at production but not business… How can I survive?” How can I […]
This is an article I originally posted way back in October of 2012, but it has consistently been one of the most popular articles on the Design Range, and is probably the most viewed thing I’ve ever written. The plan was to take a look through it and make some updates, but the fact is, […]
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been publishing articles here on the Design Range all focused around contracts. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right – it has been thrilling. Genuinely though – I think in these last couple of weeks I’ve put out some really useful content, so make sure you take […]
Last week I wrote an article about why contracts are important and why you need to start using them in your design business (if you’re not already!) as part of a three part series we’re running on the Design Range about contracts, so make sure you sign up to the newsletter below so you don’t […]
Speaking about contracts has been something I’ve avoided doing for a while, which is odd given that this is a website about the business side of the creative industry. It’s kinda an important subject isn’t it? A reader called Sarah got in touch with me about this recently asking; “One thing I have been thinking […]
I’m having a great work week right now. I’m snapping necks and cashing cheques. I’m getting shit done. We all love weeks like this, weeks where we’re so crazy productive, where we manage to tick off whole projects ahead of time, where we naturally wake up early and dive straight back into the mix every day […]
Professionals in the creative industries, by and large, like a challenge. We see something that inspires us and we want to play with it, test it out, break it and remake it again. We like new things. It’s not uncommon for people in our line of work to learn a whole host of skills (full […]
We’ve all had that client email haven’t we? The one that comes a couple of days after we send off our estimate for a contract. After chatting away about concept ideas and what exciting directions we could take? It usually reads a little something like this; “Hey Awesome Designer Dude – thanks so much for […]
This is an article I originally wrote back in 2012, but I recently had a Design Range subscriber contact me asking for some advice that I think this article covers brilliantly, so I’m sharing it here again in the hope some of you who missed it the first time might find it useful – Alex. […]
If a graphic designer makes an amazing logo in the woods and nobody is around to see it, does it attract new clients? There is a lot of talent amongst the Design Range community. When you follow the Design Range on Facebook or Twitter, I always try to take a bit of time out to […]
As I’m sure many of you do, I harbour a love for computer games – particularly RPGs – that moment when you level up and watch the golden sparks fly is addictive. Perhaps I’m revealing too much of the geek in me, but seeing those numbers next to my various skills tick up is just… moreish. Often […]
We all love being good at what we do don’t we? It’s nice to take pride in your work and in the level of quality that you produce. I love being good at what I do, and I want to get better, but let me tell you something that may shock you; there is no […]
You know what I miss about being an employee of a company? Ladders. You know what I’m talking about; the climb. The clear next step that you’d have to take to progress your career, to take another step up the ladder. From team member, to assistant manager, to manager, to area manager and so on… […]
We’ve all had it at some point. That wonderful client comes calling by with a project idea that is just perfect for you. You chat away for an hour or so, bouncing ideas off each other as a thousand amazing concepts start to take root in your head. Then comes the part where you talk […]
Every industry has it’s Dark Arts. Skills so mysterious and incomprehensible that only a chosen few dare wield their powers. Yet these impenetrable abilities are so sought out by the masses, so utterly required that many will shower gold on any who can truly claim a mastery of these magnificent proficiencies. So what are these […]
It’s 28 days until Christmas! Are you excited yet!? Yes!? Well chill out – it’s still November for Gods sake. That being said, you do probably want to start thinking about what to buy your creative loved ones this Yuletide, so I’ve put together this list of all the things I personally want this year […]
So anyone who read my article on tips for working from home will know that one of the things I struggle with is getting started, or rather getting up. I’m not a morning guy, I’ve tried it and it ain’t me. On the rare occasion I manage to drag myself to my computer at a […]
Ages and ages and ages ago I used to work as Art Director for a music magazine, I think I got about eleven issues under my belt before I decided to leave to do graphic design full time. Every now and again (usually when I’m moving office) I uncover that stack of magazines I kept […]
Last week I posted an article about the absolute disaster I made of working from home when I first started freelancing and went over some of the reasons why I’ve recently packed in my office to try it again. Thankfully this time round has gone much much smoother, but it’s not been a roll of […]
When I first started out as a graphic designer many moons ago I did my first few jobs from my bedroom. At the time I was living in Manchester city centre and had a rather nice apartment, I miss that apartment, it had a balcony and everything. However working from there was anything but ideal. […]
I’ll level with you here guys – one of the things I don’t do too well in this game is social media. I’ll hold my hands up here, I know it’s important to a business but with the best intentions in the world, I keep finding myself letting it slide. However, out of all the […]
In this article I’m going to talk about how to look like a professional graphic designer, and how dressing correctly can help you land more work… No doubt straight from the off, this article is going to piss a lot of people off. I say that because there is a consensus out there that it […]
The one time a business needs a good graphic designer the most is when they’re first starting out. I’ve said many times before that you can have the best businesses in the world, but unless it looks professional you’re going to have a hard time convincing clients to trust you. I was speaking to a […]
Recently Penny Arcade launched their new TV series Strip Search in which a myriad of talented web cartoonists battle it out week on week to beat out the competition and win themselves a spot in the Penny Arcade offices and $15,000 cash to help catapult them into their career as a purveyor of premier web […]
If you’re a regular reader of the Design Range, then I’m sure you know that I’ve spoken before about how as designers we should be selling products and not just our services online. By selling products (especially digital ones) we can create a revenue stream that is entirely separate from our client based work and […]
I‘m not sure where I stand when it comes to the ‘born’ argument. It’s a phrase that’s thrown off the cuff a little too easily for my liking; “they’re a born athlete/leader/artist ect…”. I know that I certainly don’t like the idea of it. I remember reading ‘Crush It’ by Gary Vaynerchuck for the first […]
There’s been a lot of talk in the media recently about big “household name” brands falling into the realms of administration and other dark legal sounding words. In the UK at least, it’s almost as if every new Monday brings with it the collapse of one of the high street behemoths we all grew up in the shadow of, […]
So we’re hitting that mid point in January now where we pause for a second and look back to see how we’re doing with the myriad of new life changing resolutions we resolved to follow a few weeks prior. If you’re anything like me you’re probably starting to realise that maybe you took on a […]
To the vast majority of people out there degrees are a huge expense and with 2012 having one of the highest rates of unemployment in graduates ever, they’re really not any kind of guarantee of finding work. For graphic design this is especially true as the United States Department for Education has dictated that the […]
Promoting your design business can be tough at the best of times. Personally I really hate approaching people and telling them about Hunting Town and the services I offer. It feels like cold calling, like I’m bothering them, like I’m pretty much saying “HEY! YEAH YOU! STOP THAT – STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND COME […]
Tax is like an Doberman. Daunting and a bit scary if you don’t really understand how to deal with it, but once you get over the basics, it’s pretty tame. I had a phone call today from a friend of mine who’s recently become self employed asking for a spot of advice about his taxes. He […]
When you get to work in the morning, whether it be in a nice office somewhere, that little coffee shop down the street or simply in your spare room, what’s the very first thing you do? Grab a coffee? Yeah, me too, but after that what do you do? I know one of the first […]
Apparel Design is probably one of the coolest things we get the chance to do as designers. It’s a very rare occurrence that a clients comes to you and wants a boring t-shirt design, More than likely they’ll give you a very rough idea and then tell you to make it “crazy” or “awesome“, which as a […]
Whilst I was recently redecorating the Hunting Town offices I spent a bit (ok, a lot) of time trawling through sites like Flickr and Pinterest to see what other design offices looked like. To me, a design studio needs to balance on that fine line between fun and professional, veer too much to either side and clients […]
Thinking back to when my family bought their very first PC I always remember the salesman blowing my dad away with the fact that this machine had over 40GB of space on the hard drive and that we would “never be able to fill it”. Today, my phone has 64GB and I’m still having to […]
The ‘portfolio meeting’ is become a rare occurrence in the lives of today’s designer, with more and more clients finding you through your online portfolio it’s more often the case now that by the time you’re having your initial meeting with a client they’re already well versed in your back catalouge. However there are still cases where a client […]
Your invoice is a lot more important than you think. It’s not just your method of getting paid, or a way to keep track of things for your taxes. An invoice is potentially your last contact with a client, it’s your last chance to impress them, your last chance to get them thinking. Your invoice […]
Ok first of all I’d like to point out that this is not a ‘how to get started in illustration‘ from scratch article. If you’re reading this I’m assuming that you have some level of competancy with a pencil and pad. If not, then you should go away, start copying any drawing you find until […]
So you may not have heard this yet (especially if you’re one of those cool designers that I keep seeing on trains using the new MacBook Pro Retina) but Microsoft has given itself a brand new logo. I say “given itself”, because that’s exactly what they have done. Using only current Microsoft employees, the new […]
Recently the streets of Manchester have seemed a little more dreary now the rain has made it’s appearance, and I’ve found myself running a little low on inspiration. So on the 14th of September I packed up my dreams and headed down to the shining lights of London town to seek my fortune… for the […]
We all know and love Batman, the Dark Knight that patrols the rooftops of Gotham, bringing terror down on the unjust and protecting the innocent. But don’t you ever wonder how things might have turned out if Bruce Wayne had taken up painting rather than crime fighting to try and overcome the grief from his […]
When it comes to the most important tools a graphic designer has at their disposal, a good portfolio is pretty high on the list. It’s an absolute must have for anyone wanting to get ahead in this industry and quite frankly there really isn’t any excuse for not having one. As I’ve said before, you […]
The Go Media Zine holds a special place in my heart. When I was first getting started as a graphic designer Go Media was definitely my guiding light. I spent a lot of time searching around other design firms, trying to get an idea of how I should present myself, and generally how I should try […]
It’s no secret that times are tough. The recession has hit everyone hard and everyone is looking to save money where they can. For business to business industries like graphic design this can be a real problem as design is considered by many (rather unwisely) not to be an essential component of business and is often one […]
Graphic Designers are a multi-talented breed of professional, whilst once we were bastions of the print industry, in today’s society we’ve become a one stop shop for pretty much everything media related. As it’s so difficult to nail down exactly what a graphic designer is, it makes it all the more difficult to know what […]
